


Thin Ice

by destielonfire



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Ice Skating, M/M, Spooning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 13:57:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7511002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/destielonfire/pseuds/destielonfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>It was supposed to have been romantic. But Dean Winchester didn’t do romance. So he should’ve known it would go horribly wrong.</i>
</p>
<p>Dean wants to spend some time alone with Castiel, and gets the idea to go ice skating. As usual when a Winchester is involved, things don't go quite according to plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thin Ice

It was supposed to have been _romantic_. But Dean Winchester didn’t do romance. So he should’ve known it would go horribly wrong.

He’d gotten the idea during a hunt in a small town a half hour’s drive from the bunker. The culprit of the gruesome murders that had been plaguing the town had turned out to be  a Woman in White. She was easily disposed of, and Dean remembered thinking back to how he had been afraid of Constance all those years ago. Considering what they’d been through since then – including literal _hell_ – a Woman in White was barely even a challenge anymore. Certainly nothing to be afraid of.

He figured that probably wasn’t a good thing – to have seen so many horrors he’d become totally numb to them. But those were the cards that had been dealt him.

On the drive back, they passed a small, frozen lake. It was the first week of December and they’d had a couple of days where the temperature had hovered around the freezing point, dipping slightly below during the night. When Dean glanced at the pristine layer of ice covering the lake, he suddenly recalled seeing a couple of pairs of ice skates in one of the bunker’s storage rooms.

He wondered if Castiel had ever gone ice skating before. Taking a quick look at the angel-turned-human in the rear-view mirror, he didn’t think it was very likely. But he was certain that Castiel would love ice skating, since he was always so excited about participating in typical _human_ activities. And truth be told, Dean wanted to spend some time outside the bunker with just the two of them.

Since Castiel had lost his grace permanently in a fight with a rogue angel gone bad a couple of months ago, so many things had happened that Dean could barely keep up. Helping Castiel adjust to life as a human (again) had brought them closer, and they’d finally taken that extra step after a few too many drinks during movie night.

What they had was still new and exciting, and while Dean wasn’t quite ready yet to define it, he was happy with the direction it was going in. But they’d been cooped up in the bunker with barely any ‘alone-time’ that didn’t involve the knowledge that Sam was only a few doors down. It would be nice to just go out with Castiel and do something they would both enjoy.

This was the thought process that found Dean sifting through the many items scattered around in one of the bunker’s dusty storage rooms the next day, looking for two pairs of ice skates. His memory proved him right, and he found the skates quickly. They seemed to be more or less the correct size for Castiel and him. In any case, they wouldn’t be skating for too long. He just wanted to give Castiel a taste.

“Cas,” Dean said, rounding the corner into the kitchen where Castiel was getting a drink from the fridge, “put on some warm clothes and meet me at the garage in five – we’re going out!”

Castiel sipped his glass of water before putting it down on the table. “Why? Did you find another hunt so soon?” he asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion. “ Should I get Sam?”

Dean shook his head. “It’s not a case, man. I just want to go somewhere. With you.” He looked down awkwardly. “Alone.”

“Oh.” Castiel blinked a few times, processing what Dean had said. But then a small, pleased smile appeared on lips. “Can I know where we’re going?”

Dean was going to die of embarrassment, and his tombstone would say ‘Dean Winchester. Monster Hunter, older brother, sap’. But damn it, he’d planned this and he was going to go through with it! “It’s, uh,…it’s a surprise,” he said through gritted teeth, hating the fact that he was blushing.

Castiel’s smile grew wider, and he made his way through the kitchen to get to his room and change. When he passed by Dean, he quickly pecked him on the cheek. “I’ll be there in five,” he said, before hurrying off.

Dean was very, _very_ happy nobody was there to see him touch the spot where Castiel had kissed him.    

A twenty minute drive brought them back to that small lake. It was late afternoon, and the sky was already slowly starting to darken. Since there was no artificial lighting, they would have to stop once it got too dark. It was only a short walk from where they’d parked the Impala to the lake. Dean hadn’t spied any other cars, so he figured they would be the only ones there, which suited him just fine.

On their way, they passed by a sign that said ‘thin ice’, which Dean ignored because he was sure that every single lake in the country had a sign like that to protect the city council from being sued if some poor schmuck ever fell through. It didn’t mean anything. Besides, he would test the ice before he’d let Castiel on it.

He’d put the ice skates in a duffel bag, so Castiel was none the wiser as to why they were here. When they reached the bank of the frozen lake, Dean turned to Castiel and opened the bag, taking out one of the skates.

“We’re going ice skating, Cas. Have you ever done that before?”

Castiel looked at the skates curiously. “No, I have not. But I’ve seen people do it on tv and it looked like fun.” He switched his gaze to Dean, who was unpacking the other skates from the duffel bag and putting them on the ground. “Thank you, Dean, for taking me here.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t thank me just yet,” Dean said, gesturing for Castiel to sit down on a nearby rock. “You’ll probably be cursing my name after you’ve fallen for the millionth time and your ass is all covered in bruises.”

Dean reckoned it would go faster if he just put on Castiel’s skates for him, so before the ex-angel could protest he was already kneeling next to him, taking off his shoes and putting on the skates. He couldn’t help but take advantage of the suggestive position, though.

“But hey, I’ll kiss it better for you,” he said cheekily, winking up at Castiel. “Cause I’m a good Samaritan like that.”

“I’m sure your intentions are entirely altruistic,” Castiel deadpanned in response, rolling his eyes.

After helping Castiel with his skates and putting on his own, he told the other man to wait on the bank while he tested the sturdiness of the ice. A minute or two of shuffling around later, he decided it was safe enough.

“It’s fine, Cas, come on!”

Castiel tentatively put one skate on the ice, instinctively reaching out to Dean, who was all too glad to take Castiel by the shoulder and elbow and hold him steady while he adjusted his balance.

“Steady. Just take it easy,” Dean said. “We’ll start moving real slow and I’ll keep a hold on you until you get the hang of it.”

Castiel nodded, and they slowly started gliding on the ice. It had been more than a decade since Dean had last ice skated, and while it wasn’t _quite_ like riding a bike, he did find that his muscles remembered the movements, and his centre of balance adjusted quickly to the way Dean held his body, leaning slightly forward.

Castiel turned out to be a natural. After about ten minutes of furious concentration interspersed with a few falls here and there during which they barely talked because Castiel needed to focus - his lips pursed and forehead scrunched in a way that Dean definitely did _not_ think was cute – he was ready to let Dean go and skate off on his own.

Dean mourned the loss of being able to hold Castiel close and support him. But when Castiel started skating in large circles around him, grinning widely with a bright sparkle in his eyes, Dean could feel his heart grow ten times larger and he found himself answering the grin with his own.

“This is very enjoyable!” Castiel exclaimed, sounding almost giddy. “It gives me a feeling of weightlessness that is very exhilarating.”

“Yeah,” Dean replied gruffly, keeping himself in check before he said something _really_ sappy like ‘that’s how I always feel when you smile at me like that’. “I’m glad you like it, Cas.”

Castiel beamed at him and whirled around, skating away to an area of the lake they hadn’t explored yet while trying out some quick turns and other techniques with various levels of success. Dean shook his head at what could only be described as Castiel’s _antics_.

He was momentarily distracted when he sensed that one of his laces had become untied. Crouching down, he started to retie it, when he suddenly heard a loud creak, followed by a crunch and a huge splash.

Dean stood up and whipped around, scanning the lake for Castiel, who had disappeared. “Cas!” Dean yelled, panicking. When he didn’t receive a reply he started looking for the hole in the ice that he knew had to be there.

Spotting it, he took off, gliding swiftly across the ice. He didn’t give a moment’s thought about his own safety or the fact that there might be other spots of thin ice on the lake – finding Castiel was the only thing on his mind. When he reached the hole, he cursed the fact that the water was so dark – apparently the lake wasn’t as clean as it had looked, or maybe it was full of algae that turned the water murky.

He laid down on his stomach and reached into the water, groping desperately around, hoping he’d bump into Castiel. “Please, please, oh God, please,” Dean murmured under his breath, his panic only growing when his efforts yielded no result. He slid forward a bit more, which allowed him to submerge his arms up until his shoulders completely in the water, increasing his reach. He dug the sharp tips of his skates in the ice so he wouldn’t be at risk of sliding into the hole himself.

_There!_ His hands found what felt like an elbow, and he started pulling at it with all his strength, slowly pulling Castiel out of the water by sliding backwards, digging in his skates just a bit further back each time to anchor himself.

Finally, Castiel was completely out of the water and lying on the ice. His face was extremely pale with a slight blue tinge, and he was obviously suffering from cold shock. “Cas!” Dean cried out, cupping Castiel’s face to check if he was still breathing.

When he couldn’t sense anything, he was about to start performing CPR when Castiel’s eyes flew open. He gasped and started coughing up water, rolling to his side so he could more easily expel the liquid from his lungs. Feeling relieved beyond words, Dean helped steady him and patted his back while Castiel retched and caught his breath.

After a minute or two, Castiel had stopped coughing and his breath had evened out. However, he’d started shaking violently, and Dean figured it was time to go.

“C’mon Cas, I’ll help you up. We gotta go and get you warm,” he said gently, pulling Castiel up and slinging an arm around his shoulders, taking on most of the other man’s body weight. Skating back to the bank was difficult and progress was slow, so that by the time they’d reached it Castiel was shaking so hard it was difficult to keep a tight hold on him.

Dean quickly removed their skates, putting them back in the duffel bag and slinging it over his free shoulder, despite the fact that he was determined to avoid ice skating in the near future. The short walk back to the car went a little quicker. After settling Castiel into the passenger seat with a blanket he’d found in the booth of his trunk wrapped securely around him, Dean drove off quickly, breaking the speed limit and ignoring stop signs along the way. Luckily, the roads were deserted.

By the time he got to the bunker it was fully dark. As soon as he had parked the Impala in the garage, he ran to find Sam, reasoning that getting Castiel into bed would go far quicker with the two of them supporting him. A short explanation and a “Dean! How could you be so careless?” “I know Sammy, believe me, I _know_! But help now, tear me a new one after!” later, Sam and Dean were helping a drowsy Castiel out of the car.

When they got to Dean’s room – Castiel had his own but these days he slept in Dean’s most of the time – they debated whether the best thing to do was to give Castiel a warm bath first or to just dry him off and put him to bed. By then, Castiel was starting to recover, though he was still shivering violently.

“I believe…in these…c-c-circumstances,” he stuttered, teeth clacking due to his shivering, “it is b-best to just g-get dry…and w-warm.”

“Okay, Cas, whatever you want,” Dean said soothingly, helping Castiel take off his water-soaked jacket. When Sam saw that Dean had started to help Castiel undress, he hesitated.

“Do you want me to help you? Or…”

“No, it’s OK. I got this. Thanks,” Dean shot him a small, grateful smile. Sam nodded and looked at Castiel, brows furrowed unhappily out of concern for his friend. He gently clapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll be fine. You’re still shivering which means your condition isn’t that severe. I’m glad Dean managed to at least get you out of the water on time.” As he said the last part, he looked at Dean accusingly, and Dean knew he would get a good old-fashioned scolding later. He’d take it, though, because he knew he deserved it.

Sam started walking towards the door. “I’ll come in tomorrow morning to check on you both, okay?” he said. “Night guys,” he added before he closed the door behind him with a muffled click.

Now that Sam had left, Dean immediately went for Castiel’s pants, wanting to get him out of those wet clothes and under a pile of warm blankets as soon as possible.

“Dean,” Castiel said, pushing Dean’s hands away, “I can do it myself.” His shaking hands said otherwise, as he tried and failed to get his zipper open. Dean gently covered Castiel’s hands with his own.

“Cas, please, let me help you. Let me take care of you,” he said, meeting Castiel’s eyes. “Let me make it right, I-” his voice broke. “I gotta make it right.”

Castiel was silent for a moment, and Dean’s heart skipped a beat, feeling nauseous at that thought that he would be told to leave. “Alright,” Castiel said finally, and Dean let out the breath he hadn’t realised he was holding.

They made quick work of undressing Castiel, and when he was down to his wet underwear Dean went to the bathroom to grab some towels. He’d never been more grateful of the fact that the Men of Letters seemed to value their showers and baths immensely, and had therefore kept a large stock of big, fluffy towels at hand.

He first took care of his own clothes, shedding his jacket and shirt and drying himself off quickly. Then he directed Castiel to sit on the edge of the bed on one of the towels. Taking a fresh towel, he wordlessly kneeled down on the floor in front of Castiel and started rubbing his feet dry. He worked his way up Castiel’s body slowly and methodically, his touches as light as possible while still making sure that he was thoroughly drying him off.

At the same time, whenever he had finished with a particular area, he would press a small kiss on Castiel’s skin, letting his actions express his regret, fear, relief and bitter guilt in a way that his words couldn’t.

Castiel just watched him, his eyes full of love and affection that Dean knew he didn’t deserve, not now, not after he had almost killed him.

When Dean reached Castiel’s shoulders, he could no longer prevent the tears from falling, and he buried his face in Castiel’s neck. “I’m _so_ sorry,” he whispered into Castiel’s skin.

Castiel wrapped his arms around Dean, hugging him tightly. The shivering had become more of a trembling, and he could speak without his teeth chattering. “You must know I don’t blame you,” he said, bringing one hand up to stroke Dean’s hair. “I know you’re already well on your way to hating yourself for this, but please don’t. It was an accident.”

Dean let out an ugly, self-deprecating snort as he pulled out of the embrace and started towelling Castiel’s hair. “It was my idea,” he said, voice clipped with anger and self-loathing, “my responsibility to check if the ice could hold our weight. I fucked up and almost got you killed. So don’t tell me it wasn’t my fault because it damned well was.”

By then he’d finished with the towel, throwing it on the floor. He got up, his knees aching and joints cracking, and stripped off his remaining clothes. Castiel finally removed his still-wet underwear and made sure he was completely dry before he slid under the covers with a grateful moan at the warmth he encountered.

Dean turned off the main light so that the bedside lamp was their only source of lighting, and slipped into bed next to Castiel, who was making an impressive effort to burrow himself as deep as possible into the mattress.

As soon as Dean was settled, Castiel latched onto him, wrapping his limbs around him like an octopus. “Hold me,” he sighed, nuzzling his nose into Dean’s neck and breathing in deeply, seemingly trying to inhale Dean’s warmth. Castiel’s skin was still cold, but Dean ignored his own slight discomfort and tried to give the other man as much warmth and comfort as he could.

He pressed a kiss on top of Castiel’s head. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t made it. I can’t even bear to think about it,” he said with a raw voice.

“Then don’t,” Castiel responded, stroking his hand up and down Dean’s side. “I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.” He kissed Dean’s cheek. “You won’t get rid of me that easily.”

Dean chuckled despite himself, and lowered his head to capture Castiel’s mouth in a gentle kiss, pouring all his love and guilt into it. Castiel responded eagerly, and they kissed languidly for a few minutes, just sharing air and taking comfort in the fact that they could still do this, that they hadn’t lost it.

Dean broke the kiss and bumped his forehead against Castiel’s. “Let’s go to sleep. I’m barely keeping awake and I _know_ you gotta be beyond tired.”

They rearranged themselves so that Dean was spooning Castiel, his arms wrapped around him tightly and protectively. Castiel turned off the light, and they settled in to sleep. Bone-tired as he was, Castiel started dropping off after only a few minutes. But he still heard the whispered “I love you” that Dean spoke into his neck. He fell asleep to the comforting feeling of Dean’s body heat seeping into his skin.

Dean’s last thought before sleep took him was that next time he was in a romantic mood, he’d just stick to dinner and a movie.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading. Come say hi to me on tumblr at [destielonfire](http://destielonfire.tumblr.com), where you can also find [some more drabbles and ficlets](http://destielonfire.tumblr.com/search/%23chloe's%20creations+%23drabble) that I haven't posted here.


End file.
